"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."

- Benjamin Franklin

Featured In This Issue

Special Days and Events
Existing-Home Sales Up Again
Save money easily on your back-to-school shopping
Cooking Corner

Special Days and Events

September 7 ? Labor Day
September 8 ? International Literacy Day
September 11 ? Patriot Day
September 13 ? Grandparents Day
September 13 ? International Chocolate Day
September 16 ? Mayflower Day
September 16 ? International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
September 17 ? National Stepfamily Day
September 17 ? Citizenship Day
September 18 ? Rosh Hashanah
September 21 ? World Gratitude Day
September 21 ? End of Ramadan
September 22 ? American Business Women's Day
September 27 ? Yom Kippur

The birth flower for September is the Aster. The birth stone for September is the Sapphire.

Existing-Home Sales Up Again

Existing-home sales rose for the third consecutive month with inventory easing and home prices declining less sharply in June, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales ? including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops ? increased 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units in June from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May, but are 0.2 percent lower than the 4.90 million-unit level in June 2008.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, is hopeful about the gain. "The increase in existing-home sales occurred in all major regions of the country," he said. "We expect a gradual uptrend in sales to continue due to tax credit incentives and historically high affordability conditions. Despite the rise in closed transactions, many Realtors® are reporting lost sales as a result of new appraisal standards that went into effect May 1 of this year."

A June survey of NAR members shows 37 percent experienced at least one lost sale as a result of the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct, with seven out of 10 reporting an increased use of out-of-area appraisers. Seventy percent of NAR appraiser members said consumers were paying higher fees, while 85 percent report a perceived reduction in appraisal quality.

"Clearly the process needs to be revised, but the most logical approach is to use appraisers with local expertise, industry designations and access to local data, who make a physical examination of the property and use apples-to-apples comparisons with nearby home sales," Yun said. "In many cases, normal homes are being compared with distressed homes sold at a discount, which often are in subpar condition ? this is causing real harm to both buyers and sellers."

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.42 percent in June from 4.86 percent in May; the rate was 6.32 percent in June 2008. Mortgage interest rates have trended lower in recent weeks.

Total housing inventory at the end of June fell 0.7 percent to 3.82 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.4-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 9.8-month supply in May. Raw inventory totals are 14.9 percent below a year ago.

"This is another hopeful sign ? if we can keep the volume of sales above the level of new inventory, prices could stabilize in many areas around the end of the year," Yun said.

An NAR practitioner survey in June showed first-time buyers accounted for 29 percent of transactions, unchanged from May, and that the number of buyers looking at homes is up nearly 12 percentage points from June 2008.

NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said there are very good opportunities. "Despite some of the challenges, the housing market continues to demonstrate signs of recovery," he said. "The temporary first-time buyer tax credit is clearly helping people make a decision and is contributing to the overall stimulus impact, but since it´s taking longer to close transactions, many would-be beneficiaries may not be able to take advantage of the credit before the December 1 expiration date. As a consequence, consumers need the expertise of Realtors® more than ever to navigate both the obstacles and opportunities in today´s market."

The national median existing-home price3 for all housing types was $181,800 in June, which is 15.4 percent below June 2008. Distressed properties, which accounted for 31 percent of sales in June, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.

Single-family home sales rose 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.32 million in June from a level of 4.22 million in May, and are 0.2 percent higher than the 4.31 million-unit pace a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $181,600 in June, which is 15.0 percent below June 2008.

Existing condominium and co-op sales jumped 14.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 570,000 units in June from 500,000 in May, but are 3.1 percent below the 588,000-unit level in June 2008. The median existing condo price4 was $183,300 in June, down 18.9 percent from a year ago.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 2.5 percent to an annual pace of 820,000 in June, but are 4.7 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $249,400, down 5.9 percent from June 2008.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 0.9 percent in June to a level of 1.10 million but are 1.8 percent lower than June 2008. The median price in the Midwest was $157,000, which is 9.1 percent below a year ago.

In the South, existing-home sales rose 4.0 percent to an annual pace of 1.81 million in June but are 3.7 percent below a year ago. The median price in the South was $163,200, down 11.9 percent from June 2008.

Existing-home sales in the West improved by 6.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.16 million in June, and are 11.5 percent higher than June 2008. The median price in the West was $214,800, which is 24.9 percent below a year ago.

Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine [August, 2009] with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Save money easily on your back-to-school shopping

Who doesn't want to save money these days? With the back-to-school season around the corner, saving money is a top priority in the minds of many parents.

Here are some tips to make sure you check everything off your child's school supply list, and keep some money where it belongs ? in your pocket:

* Look over your supplies.
Let's face it, your child didn't use all of his crayons, pencils, erasers and rulers last year. Admittedly, they might not be in the greatest shape, but by taking careful inventory of what he already has and can reuse, you potentially can put a check mark next to one or two items on the supply list.

* Reduce the price and get a rebate.
Online shopping is growing in popularity ? it saves time and gas money, plus you don't have to take your kids to the store with you. A great site to visit before you start your online shopping should be Ebates.com, where not only can you find coupons and discount codes for more than 1,100 online stores, but you will also get a check back in the mail for a percentage of your purchases.

For example, if you shop at Target.com through the Ebates site, you not only can use the discount codes and coupons, but you also get a 4 percent total purchase rebate put into your account. Once a quarter you'll receive a check in the mail for all of your rebates. An added advantage ? no rebate forms to fill out or points or miles to redeem.

"It´s a great way to save time and money," says Nikki Laff, a Chicago-based mom of a teenage girl and avid online shopper. "I go in through Ebates to do my shopping and get everything from textbooks to clothing to the basic school supplies and I get cash back. I just do my shopping, I check out, and every three months I get a check, it´s really that simple."

* Sales, sales, sales, need we say more?
Retailers recognize that parents are looking for sales when it comes to back-to-school shopping. And by combining coupons, discounts and sale prices, you can get some pretty good deals. Check the fliers, go online and compare everything.

* Tax-free holidays.
Clothes are usually the big expense on your back-to-school shopping list. Many states offer tax-free holidays in recognition of this. If your state doesn't offer a tax holiday, make sure you get the most out of available rebates and sales.

Soon you'll be waving goodbye as your children once again head off to school. This year, you can sit back with a huge sigh of relief, knowing that you outfitted them for the coming year with some great bargains. 

Courtesy of ARA Content

Cooking Corner

Salsa Stoup With Avocado Smash And Double-Decker Baked Quesadillas
Courtesy FoodNetwork.com

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of pan, plus some for brushing tortillas
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped with greens
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
6 flour tortillas, 6 to 8 inches
1 cup shredded Cheddar, available in pouches on dairy aisle
3 scallions, chopped
4 ounce brick Pepper Jack or chipotle cheese, shredded, about 1 cup
Sour cream, to pass at table
Avocado Smash, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan and the jalapenos, bell pepper, onions, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper then saute veggies 5 minutes, add tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and stock and bring soup to a bubble. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir in cilantro.
Paint 1 side of 2 tortillas with oil and place them next to each other, oiled side down, on a large cookie sheet. Mix cheddar with scallions and divide the cheese between the tortillas evenly. Top with another tortilla and top each of those with equal amounts of Pepper Jack cheese. Set the last tortillas on top and brush tops with extra-virgin olive oil. Cook 10 minutes in the oven to melt cheese and crisp up tortillas. Cool quesadillas 5 minutes to set then cut each quesadilla into 6 pieces.
Serve bowls of stoup with 3 wedges quesadilla along side each bowlful. Pass the Avocado Smash and the sour cream for topping soup or quesadillas.

Avocado Smash: